Facebook Said to Face EU Sanctions for Not Complying With Consumer Rules

Facebook may face sanctions because it’s to comply with EU Customer rules while Airbnb has made the necessary Modifications in response to regulatory demands, EU sources said on Wednesday.

Online platforms are under strain in Europe due to their dominance and anti-competitive business practices, which have resulted in hefty penalties handed down to companies. Privacy and customer concerns have also aggravated the situation.

Seven months after Europe’s Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova told Facebook and other technology companies to bring their consumer terms based on EU consumer legislation, the social networking giant has yet to address all of her worries, the sources said.

“There’s only small progress and this was going on for too long,” the sources said.

Jourova had expressed concerns about the firms’ liability and users are educated about content elimination or contract terminations.

Consumer protection authorities across the 28-country bloc, which requested the changes this past year, have the ability to find the companies for breaching EU rules.

Facebook has said it worked with EU authorities to amend its terms and guarantee greater transparency.

Three months after being told to revise its terms and conditions, Airbnb has made the necessary alterations, the sources said.

“This is fantastic news for customers who will benefit for example from transparency on prices so that they can compare offers upfront,” the sources said.

The European Commission had told Airbnb to say whether an accommodation is offered by a private individual or a professional, supply details of prices in a transparent way and provide fairer terms to consumers.

Founded in 2008 in San Francisco, Airbnb matches people wishing to rent out part or all of their homes to temporary visitors, via a website.